Intelligence Can be Shaped After Birth
The old thinking was that biology is destiny. IQs were thought to be born not made. Certainly, some kids seem naturally smarter than others, right from the get-go.
But we now know that the sum total of a baby’s intellectual capacity is not fixed at birth.
A child is born with an IQ range that can vary by as much as twenty or thirty points.
While gens and physical health set the stage for some of a child’s future behavior, we now know that a child’s IQ and ability to function well also depends on the environmental experiences that she is exposed to on a consistent basis.
Think of healthy brain development as a dance between biology (what your child was born with) and early care (what happens after birth).
The two are so intertwined scientists are now examining factors in the environment that can either hinder or facilitate the way that genes operate.
We now know that some genes can be dormant; whether or not they get “turned on” depends on experience. This is dramatic new finding.
Your baby’s consistent early experiences may actually protect against the turning on of certain genes involved with unwanted traits, such as hyperactivity, compulsivity and aggressive behavior.
An amazing example of the power of life experiences to alter the “destiny” inscribed by our genes can be seen in rhesus monkeys.
Those born with one particular variation of a gene grow up to be extremely aggressive when they are poorly bonded to their mothers during infancy, yet other monkeys who also have this gene variant do not become aggressive when they have developed a secure relationship with mom.
Despite the monkeys in each situation having the same version of the gene, they have different levels of the chemical that’s produced by the gene.
This indicates that life experiences in the early years can actually change how certain genes function.
A child can grow up to be bright independent of his parents’ intelligence levels, and a child who is born bright can sustain or exceed that intelligence depending on life experiences.
Intelligence Can be Shaped After Birth
The old thinking was that biology is destiny. IQs were thought to be born not made. Certainly, some kids seem naturally smarter than others, right from the get-go.
But we now know that the sum total of a baby’s intellectual capacity is not fixed at birth.
A child is born with an IQ range that can vary by as much as twenty or thirty points.While gens and physical health set the stage for some of a child’s future behavior, we now know that a child’s IQ and ability to function well also depends on the environmental experiences that she is exposed to on a consistent basis.
Think of healthy brain development as a dance between biology (what your child was born with) and early care (what happens after birth).
The two are so intertwined scientists are now examining factors in the environment that can either hinder or facilitate the way that genes operate.
We now know that some genes can be dormant; whether or not they get “turned on” depends on experience. This is dramatic new finding.
Your baby’s consistent early experiences may actually protect against the turning on of certain genes involved with unwanted traits, such as hyperactivity, compulsivity and aggressive behavior.
An amazing example of the power of life experiences to alter the “destiny” inscribed by our genes can be seen in rhesus monkeys.
Those born with one particular variation of a gene grow up to be extremely aggressive when they are poorly bonded to their mothers during infancy, yet other monkeys who also have this gene variant do not become aggressive when they have developed a secure relationship with mom.
Despite the monkeys in each situation having the same version of the gene, they have different levels of the chemical that’s produced by the gene.
This indicates that life experiences in the early years can actually change how certain genes function.
A child can grow up to be bright independent of his parents’ intelligence levels, and a child who is born bright can sustain or exceed that intelligence depending on life experiences.
Intelligence Can be Shaped After Birth
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